Many dinosaurs were covered in feathers or other biostructures similar to them. In fact, theropods, such as velociraptors or tyrannosaurs, with which modern birds are related, already wore them long before the Archeopteryx tried to fly, 150 million years ago.
Now, a team of researchers from the universities of Bonn and Göttingen, in Germany, suggests that feathers would give them a colorful appearance, which would have a significant impact on the way they communicate , the choice of a partner and, ultimately, , in procreation.
In an article published in the journal Science , these scientists point out that this characteristic indicates that they would have a highly developed ability to discern colors. The biologist Marie-Claire Koschowitz, from the Institute of Geology, Mineralogy and Paleontology of the University of Bonn, who participated in the study, highlights that the analysis of the genetic relationships that these animals have with birds and reptiles has allowed to determine that They had color vision, with receptors for blue, green, and red, like our eyes. But it is that, in addition, they probably had an additional one that allowed them to discern ultraviolet light.
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